bench3: Tea

Showing posts with label Tea. Show all posts

Test Post By Haja

Posted by bench3 | Posted on 8:08 AM

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Black Tea Also Called As Red Tea

Posted by bench3 | Posted on 12:42 AM

Category: Drinks , Tea

Of the four tea types, black tea is allowed to oxidize the longest and is known for its beautiful red color and light sweet taste.

The Other Three Types Of Tea:

(The Chinese call it red tea because the actual tea liquid is red; westerners call it black tea because the tea leaves used to brew it are usually black.) This process produces a hearty, deep, rich flavor. Black tea contains the most caffeine, but still has only about half the amount of a regular cup of coffee. About 75 percent of the tea produced worldwide is black tea; it is the type of tea consumed by 87 percent of American tea drinkers.

The processing sequence for black tea is:

Leaves and buds are harvested.
Leaves and buds are cleaned.
Leaves and buds are withered.
The withered leaves are cut and fermented.
When the cut leaves turn from blue-green to dark red or black, they are placed into the hot wok to stop the fermentation process and add flavor.

Oolong Tea | The Champagne Of Teas

Posted by bench3 | Posted on 12:37 AM

Category: Drinks , Tea

Oolong tea, referred to as the Champagne of teas, is a semioxidized whole-leaf tea, which retains all of the nutrients and natural healing factors contained in unfermented green tea, but without the raw, grassy taste. It falls somewhere between green and black tea, with complex flavor and aroma. The leaves go through a very brief fermentation process, which eliminates harsh irritants from the raw tea and creates the subtle fragrances and flavors that distinguish this tea from all other varieties.

Oolong legend tells us Wu Liang (who lived during the Ming Dynasty in China, around 1400 AD), a tea farmer, went out one day to pick tea, as he did every day in the tea-picking season. He had collected quite a bit when his eye was caught by a deer drinking by the river. He stopped his tea-picking activities and killed the poor animal (sorry to have to report this). He took the slain deer home, as it would provide him with a week’s worth of meals. He forgot all about his tea. When he went back to collect his load, he found that the tea had started to blacken. We know today, it had begun to oxidize.

Wu Liang thought that it might have gone bad, but decided to proceed with his traditional preparations. He dried the tea by pan-firing, as was done with the green teas of the day. When he made a cup of this tea, he was surprised to find that it tasted different than his usual green tea, and discovered that he loved the flavor. He taught his neighbors and friends how to make the new tea, and it came to be named after him. Language being what it is, the name eventually evolved from Wu Liang to Oolong.

The processing sequence for oolong tea is:

Leaves and buds are harvested.
Leaves and buds are cleaned.
Leaves and buds are placed in bamboo containers and air is blown through them. This process is referred to as “withering the leaves.”
The withered leaves are rolled, which releases the oils within the leaf. These oils mix with the oxygen in the air and the leaves begin to ferment or oxidize.
When the rolled leaves reach a dark blue-green color, they are placed into a hot wok to stop the fermentation process and add flavor.

Green Tea And Its Processing Sequence

Posted by bench3 | Posted on 12:31 AM

Category: Drinks , Tea

During the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), production and preparation of tea changed throughout China. Even then, people were looking for convenience; a new form of tea emerged as a result of people wanting more and more tea without having to take the time to brew the leaves.

The tea leaves were picked and quickly steamed to preserve their color and fresh character. After steaming, the leaves were dried. The finished tea was then ground into fine powders that were whisked in wide bowls. The resulting beverage resembled what we know of today as instant tea—you mixed the tea powder with hot water and voilà! Your tea was ready in an instant.

This tea was highly regarded for its deep emerald or iridescent white appearance and its rejuvenating and healthy energy. This style of tea preparation, using powdered tea and ceramic ware, became known as the Song tea ceremony. Although it later became extinct in China, this Song style of tea evolved into what is now the Japanese tea ceremony that endures still today.

Today, there are between 12,500 and 20,000 green teas produced in China alone (although they are named and renamed so many times—for no apparent reason—that no one knows exactly how many there are). It is similar to wine in that respect. There are thousands of vineyards that produce wines; not all of them make it to market, or are meant to do so. It’s the same with tea in China.

There are thousands of individual tea plantations and each produces its own variety of tea. Some are meant only for an individual farmer’s consumption; others may be distributed in a local area; and still others are grown for the commercial market and shipped worldwide.

As with white tea, the bud and leaves for green tea are picked, cleaned, and dried. The tea leaves then undergo a minimal amount of oxidation. Green tea has very low levels of caffeine, and derives its distinctive, healthy good flavor from the area in which it is grown and the techniques used to produce the tea.

The processing sequence for green tea is:

Leaves and buds are harvested.
Leaves and buds are cleaned.
Leaves and buds are dried.
In Japan, the leaves are steamed, which stops any fermentation.
In China, the leaves are placed in very hot woks to stop any fermentation.
The tea is then rolled, cut, ground, or shaped into a form uniquely associated with the plantation on which it is grown.

Dragon’s Well is the most famous of Chinese green teas; it grows on the peaks of the Tieh Mu (t’yeh MOO) mountain range. Chinese mythology tells us that the dragon is the king of the waters. History tells us that in 250 AD, there was a drought at the Dragon’s Well monastery. A monk prayed to the dragon, pleading for rain. His prayers were immediately answered, and the tea produced there received its name.

White Tea | The Tea Of Royals

Posted by bench3 | Posted on 12:26 AM

Category: Drinks , Tea

If all true tea comes from the same plant, how are the different types created? What distinguishes one type of tea from another is the way the leaves and leaf buds are processed after harvesting; these processes vary somewhat from country to country, but the basic concepts are the same around the world. Because all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, the differences are created by the length of time the tea leaves are allowed to “ferment,” or oxidize.

White Tea

White tea, which has always been revered as the “Tea of Royals,” is the most delicate and least processed tea in the world. White tea, named for the hao, or the white hair on the bud or baby leaf, is known for its mild flavor and natural sweetness. It is made from young leaves that have undergone no oxidation.

The production of authentic white tea is restricted to a limited geographical area in southeastern China’s Fujian province. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1990s that white tea was introduced to the Western world. It possesses the least caffeine of all the tea types, and is prized for its cooling and refreshing character while delivering many antioxidant and heart-strengthening elements, and is becoming more and more popular as a result of the newfound health benefits.

White tea was being produced as far back as the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD). At that time, the nature of the beverage and the style of tea preparation were quite different from the way we experience tea today. Tea leaves were processed into cakes and prepared by boiling pieces of the compressed tea in earthenware kettles. This special white tea of Tang was picked in early spring when the new growths of tea bushes that resemble silver needles were abundant.

The processing sequence for white tea is: